Little Rock-area law enforcement agencies are preparing for how covid-19 stands to affect their forces both in numbers and in operation.
North Little Rock equipped police and fire department, and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) personnel with protective gear to prevent spread of the virus, according to Mayor Joe Smith. If police receive a call that involves someone exhibiting symptoms similar to the flu, police and fire personnel will stand down until a MEMS crew arrives, the mayor said.
"If it got really bad, we could figure that 40% of our [police] employees could be gone -- either at home sick or quarantined or taking care of sick family members," Smith said. "And the question everybody had was can you run your department with 60% of the personnel you have today? So, we are working on those issues."
Some officers may have to fill two roles in the workplace if such a scenario occurred, Smith said.
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"We're gonna maintain safety in North Little Rock, whatever it takes, so I don't see us changing our protocol on how we patrol or how we arrest," Smith said. "We're careful now, and we might be a little more careful, and I don't see that changing right now at all."
Police and other first-responders, including fire and MEMS crews, received instruction about safe practices to help prevent the spread of the virus, like washing hands regularly and disinfecting work areas, according to a guidelines Smith gave to the departments.
Also, all Monday court dates for the North Little Rock District Court traffic division have been canceled because of the large number of plea and arraignments that day, according to a statement from Judge Randy Morely.
Furthermore, the court will not require appearances by people ticketed for having no proof of insurance or driving on suspended licenses, Morely said.
"So, only DWI, reckless driving and extreme speed [ticket recipients] will have to appear in court," Morely said. "We are moving future court dates to the middle of May."
The North Little Rock District Court criminal division also will be postponing all court dates -- until May 19, according to a statement from Judge Paula Jones.
Attorneys representing incarcerated individuals will be able to call in for hearings, Jones said, and all in-person probation reporting will be postponed until May 18.
The Pulaski County sheriff's office asked its deputies to use hand sanitizer and wash their hands frequently, according to spokesman Mitch McCoy. Deputies on the street have also been given masks as a precaution in case of contact with someone who has the virus and have been told to stay home if they feel sick, McCoy said.
The jail has access to "several" pressurized units that could be used in case an inmate is found to be infected, according to McCoy. He would not detail how much space is available.
"This is part of reviewing day-to-day operations," McCoy said. "We will work with the Department of Health. We will work with health officials to do what we can to contain the spread of the virus."
The sheriff's office will use a questionnaire in the medical-screening process for detainees, according to McCoy. It also made a hot line available for friends and families of inmates to update them on measures the jail is taking to prevent spread of the virus within the lockup.
"We're the largest detention facility in the state," McCoy said. "Family members want information about their loved ones especially if the coronavirus continues to spread."
While volunteer programs and visitations are currently unaffected, McCoy said the sheriff's office is monitoring daily the virus's impact and will do what is necessary to prevent its spread in the jail.
"We want to try and, you know, keep some kind of normalcy inside our facility especially when it comes to programs," McCoy said. "The programs, people depend on them, and our detainees depend on them to become better members of society."
Sheriff Eric Higgins said his office is working on contingency plans to ensure that the jail stays operational and the deputies keep taking calls.
Arkansas State Police officials are prepared to fulfill their normal duties of assisting agencies across the state. The department has 374 troopers and is prepared to call in an additional 184 nonpatrol troopers if needed in case of illnesses in its forces, according to spokesman Bill Sadler.
"We don't want to think of the day we have to put half the force working a medical emergency in a particular area or back-filling a particular area, but the state police is prepared to do whatever is necessary to assist those local departments and still answer the calls across the state," Sadler said.
Little Rock Police Department call-takers were briefed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about covid-19, and first responders have been given protective gear, according to city spokesman Lamor Williams.
"LRPD remains committed to delivering basic operational services without issue during any potential covid-19 outbreak in our city," Williams said.
Metro on 03/13/2020